News Analysis: Only cease-fire in Gaza can ease Red Sea tensions

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Sunday renewed their warning to the U.S. forces, urging them to leave the Red Sea quickly before it becomes "a burning arena."

The warning came as the U.S. accused the Houthis of attacking MV Saibaba, an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker owned by Gabon, with a drone, which Abdulsalam denied by claiming that it was a U.S. naval destroyer that was behind this near-miss missile attack in the southern end of the Red Sea.

The recent rising Red Sea tensions has prompted major shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through the critical maritime trade route, raising concerns about potential global economic repercussions.

Experts pointed out the conflict in Gaza are the cause of the current Red Sea crisis and cease-fire in Gaza is the only way to calm the Red Sea tensions.

Read more:

Rising Red Sea tensions: Concerns over global shipping and spillover from Gaza conflict

'A burning arena'

"The Red Sea will be a burning arena if America and its allies continue their bullying," Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said in a statement on Sunday aired by the group's al-Masirah TV.

"While a plane belonging to our navy was carrying out reconnaissance work across the Red Sea, an American warship hysterically opened fire with multiple weapons," explained Abdulsalam, adding that one of the missiles exploded near MV Saibaba, which came from Russian ports and headed southward.

The spokesman denounced the "militarization of the Red Sea" by America and its partners, saying they "posed a threat to international maritime navigation" and asking them to leave.

On Wednesday, the Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi clearly warned that his group would launch deadly attacks on U.S. warships and interests across the Middle East if Washington waged war against the militia.

Last week, the U.S. announced a 10-nation coalition to quell Houthi missile and drone attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea.

Niu Xinchun, professor of Ningxia University's China-Arab Research Institute, pointed out the U.S forces have failed to stop Houthi rebel's attacks on Israel-linked commercial ships passing through the Red Sea and has again been directly involved in the military conflict in the Middle East.

While the current U.S. military presence in the Red Sea is primarily defensive, experts observe discussions domestically about adopting offensive military actions. "So there is a possibility of substantial changes of U.S. military action in the region," said Niu.

Meanwhile, Niu also believes the tensions in the Red Sea will continue to rise along with the expanding spillover effects of the Gaza conflicts as the scale of the ground war in Gaza continues to grow, the intensity of the war rises and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is becoming more severe.

The Houthis currently control significant portions of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the strategic port city of Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast, through which up to 12 percent of world trade passes.

Since the Houthis are the armed actors in effective control of Yemen, constraining them proves challenging for international rule of law and regulations. Consequently, the international community faces difficulties in formulating a viable response to the Houthis' actions in the Red Sea waters, as analyzed by Niu Song, a research fellow at the Middle East Studies Institute (MESI) at Shanghai International Studies University.

Niu Song also stressed the fundamental way to ease the regional tension is to achieve a cease-fire between Palestine and Israel.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: Thousands of Houthi graduates who completed their military training, attend a military parade with their light and heavy weapons in Amran, Yemen, December 20, 2023. /CFP)